47 – A Plan on Top of a Running Plan
“An engagement in the founding ceremony….”
Herpina, the Empress of Mersen.
She felt a strange unease at this moment.
So, forgetting that the tea had gone cold, she absentmindedly tapped her fingers on the tea table.
“….”
Of course, the maids, who had been frightened by the long silence, were at a loss for words.
“How is this possible…?”
At the sudden outburst of the Empress’s voice, the maids were all startled.
It seemed like she was angry, but there was also a strange behavior that didn’t seem like anger.
It had been difficult to adapt ever since tea time started.
But to the Empress, who was deeply troubled, the maids were just a faint background, even fainter than the white clouds outside the window.
“….”
As if her head was throbbing, the Empress closed her eyes and pressed her temple with one hand.
The ten knights who were bought to hinder the Crown Prince had all been dismissed and imprisoned in the underground dungeon due to negligence of duty.
Ironically, none of them remembered anything that had happened outside the palace.
So the Empress couldn’t help but have a hunch.
The palace knights would never have neglected her orders as the Empress.
Without a doubt, someone unknown had intervened.
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She couldn’t understand, but she had assumed that it could happen, so it wasn’t that surprising.
But how did the burning Matapju, which had promised a significant price, manage to be stopped?
According to my father, they made a pact to use such powerful magic that it would trigger a great war…
Of course, there must have been the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army of the Rivengard, who could somehow manage to fend off the attacks of the Towerists.
But even if they managed to fend them off, the elves would surely realize that it was an attack from the humans.
“But why didn’t the war break out…?”
Despite the situation escalating to that point, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling that there was no war.
Moreover, the next morning, the raging tower exploded as if it had been attacked by a transcendent being, twisting and distorting.
“Retaliation from the elves…?”
But that couldn’t be true.
The raging tower had been under the commission of Duke Shrein for quite some time.
And most of the commissions were for destruction.
Although the tower did not disclose what it did or how it did it, even as the Empress, I couldn’t know.
Whether it was a small scale or a large scale, every time a massacre occurred, I received reports that magic rained down from the sky.
And despite carrying out such acts, there had never been a single instance where the perpetrators were traced and their backers exposed.
“Perhaps the elves, who command the spirits, were successful in their pursuit…”
But no matter how much that was the case, it was impossible for the tower’s involvement to be revealed in such a short period of time.
Even if it were revealed, would the elves come attacking the towers near the capital?
That made no sense at all.
“…”
What was even stranger was that after the failed commission, all contact with the tower master suddenly ceased.
“Surely, they’re not dead…?”
It was the last hope to correct the twisted plan, but for some reason, the contact with Service, who was supposed to be the hope, suddenly ceased.
What on earth is happening right now?
I couldn’t even see a vague outline, so I felt like I was wandering in the thick darkness of early dawn.
Of course, there would be nothing wrong with his son.
He had already risen to the ranks of the strongest in the empire, with his own power.
And he was even leading the great army that had been praised for not being able to find a worthy opponent, with a series of victories.
The empress finally raised her teacup and elegantly took a sip.
But her expression quickly turned sour.
“Oh dear, the tea has gone cold.”
The maidservants started bustling around.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“Quickly, boil it again right now-“
“It’s too noisy, everyone please leave.”
The maidservants hurriedly left, and the empress tilted her head.
It was because of the sudden unpleasant thought that came to mind.
‘But… both the emperor and the crown prince, could they be poisoned…’
It was born out of a mysterious uneasiness felt in a series of incidents.
It was truly a strange situation.
The emperor was dying, and the crown prince was in a state where he had lost the abilities of an elf and was simply going insane.
Even if it was true, that the prince had overcome the crisis that occurred in Tenafel, rumors had already spread throughout the empire.
It felt as if someone had deliberately set the stage.
To make matters worse, the emperor even went as far as to announce Eos’s engagement, as if he had been waiting for it.
And to top it off, the day of the engagement ceremony coincided with the opening of the nation-building festival, which drew the attention of the imperial citizens.
“Is this just a coincidence?”
The situation was not easy to understand.
Wasn’t the emperor already distant from power a long time ago?
It was not difficult to understand the belated fatherly affection that wanted to do something for his son when death was looming.
But whether it was intentional or not, the sight of him maneuvering through multiple layers of schemes to achieve his own will seemed too unnatural to be mere luck.
“Surely, he hasn’t regained his health….”
If there was something faintly discernible, it was the actions of the maid Glenitino, who brought medicine to the emperor and the crown prince.
In the worst case scenario, if their actions were exposed, both the emperor and the crown prince might have stopped taking the poison.
However, no matter how true that might be, it had already been a long time since they had been taking the poison.
The poison remaining in their bodies was undetectable, and there was no antidote.
Moreover, there was no shortage of evidence implicating oneself.
In such a situation, it didn’t seem like the emperor and the crown prince could accomplish anything productive.
Nevertheless, unable to dispel the suspicion that had filled his mind, he once again put down his teacup.
The empress commanded the maid who had been standing quietly behind her.
“Bring the maid who brought the medicine to the emperor. And after she leaves, bring the crown prince’s attendant.”
-I did as you commanded and delivered the drink with the poison every morning!
-I also followed orders and administered the poison to the Empress every day, just as instructed!
But the two people who were brought in with a slight time difference almost completely denied it, as if they already knew this situation would come.
Because of their unnatural and yet almost identical attitude, as if being controlled by the same person, the Empress finally realized that something was wrong.
There was no doubt that these two bastards had betrayed her.
But.
It doesn’t matter.
After all, the poison coursing through their bodies is surely devouring the Emperor’s physical health and the Crown Prince’s mental state at this very moment.
The mastermind behind these two bastards could easily be discovered with a brief interrogation.
The Emperor will not last longer than a year, and the Crown Prince’s emotional control has already been significantly destroyed, so he will soon cause another major incident.
It would be quite unfortunate if such a thing were to happen at the engagement ceremony, the Empress thought, and suddenly her mind felt refreshed.
The Empress instructed the maid and the Glen Tino to each write a letter and deliver it to Duke Shurain.
Annoying tasks like disposing of the interrogators and witnesses could be left to the knights of the Duke.
It doesn’t matter if these two bastards realize it beforehand.
After all, the palace is filled with skilled individuals disguised as servants.
They will soon whisk them away from the palace without anyone noticing.
And also the Crown Prince’s engagement ceremony.
It will not fulfill the Emperor’s expectations.
She had already prepared a grand event for her son, Cervis, that day.
Thanks to the pre-arranged agreement with the savage king, who had formed a hostile symbiotic relationship to solidify their power.
For the sake of Cervis shining even brighter, the Empress had been in constant contact with the savage king through the Duke.
The king of the barbarians had readily accepted the empress’s proposal.
On the glorious morning of Mersen’s founding, they invaded the western border of the empire.
After ruthlessly pillaging the small villages near the border, and once enough of the enemy’s vanguard had been killed, it was planned to swiftly defeat the barbarian army, as previously arranged with Servis.
In return, Shlein had promised a considerable amount of food and a tremendous amount of money.
But that was not a loss, it was an investment.
After all, those things would be nothing once Servis became emperor.
And there was also Bart, the Marquis who had rushed to him with contemplation just because he had called his daughter to the empress’s palace only once.
Of course, he still didn’t show any signs of listening, but well…
What if his daughter were to be unfairly tormented in the aristocratic circle in the future?
Or if there were further threats that would be constantly attempted?
Sss-
Finally, the empress smiled with satisfaction.
In the end, that stubborn man would soon be bowing his head to her.
Anyway.
When the founding ceremony was over, the only one receiving the admiration of the entire population would be her son, Servis, who had prevented a grave disaster from befalling the empire.
The prince who prevented a war with the elves?
The engagement ceremony?
Such things would be forgotten, buried under the prince’s achievements.
Of course, for some reason, she couldn’t reach her son right now.
He would return to the palace without delay, knowing that his son wouldn’t forget such an important matter.
The empress, gazing at the sun outside the window as it began its descent, murmured softly.
“So, Your Majesty. Please fully enjoy that momentary victory for now.”
***
The maid and Glentino, who had taken poison from the emperor’s medicine, both came running to me one after the other, begging for their lives as they cried.
Without waiting for anyone to speak first, the empress suddenly handed me a letter.
“…….”
Although the letter I pretended to lose was filled with useless words, I already knew from the novel how the empress exchanged secrets.
Finding hidden writing was a simple task.
Just sprinkle black ink on the paper as if you’re not going to see anything.
Then, only the parts written with special ink will refuse to darken, revealing their existence as a blank white space.
After torturing the person who delivered the letter and discovering the mastermind, burn them alive.
With the clearly revealed letters, there was no shortage of understanding the empress’s thoughts.
It seemed clear that she had noticed the emperor and my decryption.
“…….”
I stared silently at the faces of the maid and Glentino.
Both of them were pleading desperately with trembling eyes.
Please spare our lives.
But I didn’t feel any sympathy for them.
It was because in the original work, it was because of these two people that the emperor and the crown prince met their deaths.
The reason I kept these two alive from the beginning was for the sake of the uncertainty that trapped them in the hellish reality of being forced by my orders, not knowing when they would be exposed.
Of course, it was also true that I thought it would be good if they could be of help to me.
However, in the current situation, I couldn’t help but question whether it was right to keep them alive, enduring the discomfort that I didn’t necessarily have to go through.
Of course, even if that were the case, it was a situation where I felt a sense of regret in giving lenient punishment of death to those who committed terrible sins.
…So maybe using them as bait would be just right.
As I smiled brightly, I vividly felt the two people being startled.
“I will protect you, so both of you don’t have to go to the Duke’s mansion and live as usual.”
I split Aqua into three pieces, leaving one and putting the other two inside the bodies of the maid and Glentino.
Now, even if they drank poison or suffered any minor injuries, Aqua would immediately treat them.
And if they were ever in danger at any time, I would instantly become aware of it.
“….”
After the two people thanked me and left, bowing repeatedly.
I looked out at the yellow sky through the transparent window.
Unbeknownst to me, the day had come to an end, with the sun setting.
It was about time.
I stood up and left with Astia outside the Imperial Palace.
Then, soon, a magic circle appeared beneath our feet.
It was activated to board the ship that would be floating in the dark sky, to take Astia and me onboard.
The reason for boarding the ship of the magic tower family at this point, with the engagement ceremony not far off, was simple.
To prevent the impending disaster on the day of the country’s founding, tonight I had made up my mind to preemptively strike the savages.
Of course, before that, I had to secure the magic stone that Count Bart had saved.
With that, I would be able to reduce the savages, who would already be approaching the border, to ashes with fire magic.
After that, I planned to burn Viscount Pelios and his knights as well.
And the final destination of the night flight was.
The village of Labrione, the westernmost part of the Mersenne Empire.